As the youngest daughter of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, and the sister of Tang Zhongzong and Tang Ruizong, she was extremely favored by her parents and brothers, especially her mother Wu Zetian. She was so powerful that she was called "the princess who almost owned the world."

Some people believe that her real name is Li Lingyue based on the article "Quan Tangwen: The Food Table on behalf of the Crown Prince".

There is no exact date of birth of Princess Taiping.

Based on the time of her first marriage and the time of birth of her brother Li Dan, it is estimated that she was probably born around 665 and was the last child of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu.

The Anthology of the Tang Dynasty records that "on February 11th of the second year of Jingyun (711), the princess was born, and fortunately she was Princess Taiping." That means Taiping's birthday was February 11th.

What year was that?

Taiping's half-brother, Li Dan, was born on June 1, the second year of Longshuo (662). Even if Awu became pregnant immediately after confinement, it would not be possible for Taiping to be born on February 11, the third year of Longshuo (663).

Therefore, Taiping should be born in the first year of Linde (664) or later, and the first year of Linde is most likely.

Because the "Old Tang Book? The Benji of Gaozong" records that in the first year of Linde, "on Dingmao (the 19th day of the third month), the eldest daughter was named Princess Anding, with the posthumous title of Si." Since she is called the eldest daughter, she must have a second daughter.

Therefore, Taiping's birthday is February 11th in the first year of Linde (664).

When Princess Taiping was 8 years old, she became a female Taoist priest in the name of praying for her deceased maternal grandmother, Madam Rongguo Yang. The name Taiping was her Taoist name.

Although she is known as a monk, she has always lived in the palace.

Until Tubo sent an envoy to propose marriage to Princess Taiping.

Li Zhi and Wu Zetian didn't want their beloved daughter to marry far away, and they couldn't refuse Tubo directly, so they built Taiping Temple for her to live in and officially become a monk. They used the excuse that the princess had already become a monk to avoid getting married.

Princess Taiping - and Wu Zetian Princess Taiping's surname is Li, no name remains.

This is not only Princess Taiping, there are no names left of any princesses in the Tang Dynasty, including the queen.

For example, Emperor Taizong's empress Zhang Sun has always been a model of "queen", but she also has no name.

If Wu Zetian was not the emperor, she would not have a name. After becoming the emperor, she named herself "Wu".

By the way, calling "Wu" "Wu Zetian" now is actually neither fish nor fowl.

Because "Zetian" is just the honorific title of the Wu family, you can call her "Emperor Zetian" or "Queen Zetian", but you cannot call her "Wu Zetian".

This is like not calling Empress Taizong of the Tang Dynasty "Changsun Wende".

However, the convention is established, and now it doesn't matter if she is called "Wu Zetian".

Regarding the appearance of Princess Taiping, history books say that she is "rich, with a square forehead and a broad forehead" ("Old Tang Book: Biography of Princess Taiping", the following are from the old and new Tang books "Biography of Princess Taiping" and will not be annotated), that is,

Square forehead, wide chin, plump body.

Wu Zetian once said that Princess Taiping was "similar to herself".

This may have two meanings. One is that the daughter looks like him, and the other is that the daughter's personality and hobbies are similar to his.

Princess Taiping has "many powers" and likes to participate in politics, which is similar to Wu Zetian; in Wu Zetian's later years, she recommended Zhang Changzong to her mother as a male favorite, which is consistent with Wu Zetian.

Many conflicts between the mother and daughter Wu Zetian and Princess Taiping created by the TV series are basically unfounded.

Princess Taiping often went to her grandma Yang's house when she was young.

At that time, my cousin He Lanmin was often at my grandma's house because of her affair with Yang.

During the days when Princess Taiping was visiting her grandmother's house, she may have been raped by her cousin.

"The Biography of He Lanmin in the Old Book of Tang Dynasty" says: "At that time, Princess Taiping was still young. She went to and from the house of Rongguo (referring to Wu Zetian's mother Yang's family) and was accompanied by palace servants. She was forced by (He Lan) Min. She was raped by Russia.

When the incident happened, he was sent to Leizhou and traveled to Shaozhou, where he hanged himself with a horse rein and died."

Wu Zetian could tolerate her nephew having an affair with her mother, but she could not tolerate him raping her beloved little daughter. Therefore, as soon as this incident came out, he resolutely got rid of Helan Minzhi.

Princess Taiping was no more than 8 years old when this incident occurred. The impact it had on Princess Taiping can be imagined.

In the following years, the chaos in Princess Taiping's private life was not only related to the influence of family and social atmosphere, but also to her childhood experience.

According to historical records, at least three people had an affair with Princess Taiping.

One is "Hu Seng Huifan, whose family is rich in treasures, does good deeds and is powerful, and the princess has a secret relationship with him. He is promoted to the master of the Shengshan Temple, raised to the third rank, granted the title of Duke, and his goods flow to Jiang and Jian."

This monk Huifan relied on Princess Taiping and did many bad things.

The other is Prime Minister Cui Ti.

Cui Ti is very beautiful, but has a bad character.

He once sent his wife and two daughters to serve the prince, and he also "privately served Princess Taiping" (Volume 210 of Zizhi Tongjian).

There is also Gao Jian, the Minister of Li Cheng.

We know very little about Gao Jian, except that he was "the beloved of Princess Taiping" (Volume 207 of Zizhi Tongjian).

TV dramas about Princess Taiping only describe her love and not her desires. This is generally inconsistent with the social fashion of the time, Princess Taiping's family background, and her personal experience.

Princess Taiping had two marriages.

The first time was with Xue Shao.

When Princess Taiping was about fourteen years old, she once dressed up as a military attache and danced in front of her parents (Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian).

Her parents asked her with a smile: "You can't be a military attache, why are you doing this?" She replied: "Is it okay to give it to the prince-in-law?" This incident may be regarded as the turmoil of Princess Taiping's "adolescence".

Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty saw her request. In the words of history books, "the emperor recognized her intention and chose Xue Shaoshang."